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WASHINGTON — On Friday, President Trump suggested that the United States might consider a “friendly takeover of Cuba,” revealing that Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been engaging in discussions with the island’s Communist leadership.
“The Cuban government is in conversations with us. They’re facing significant challenges, as you’re aware. They’re financially strained and lacking resources at the moment, but they are open to dialogue with us, and perhaps we’ll achieve a friendly takeover of Cuba,” Trump remarked to reporters while departing the White House en route to Texas.
He continued, “After many years, we might indeed witness a friendly takeover of Cuba. Our dealings with Cuba have been extensive over the years.”
“Cuba has been a topic since my childhood,” Trump reflected. “They are currently in a dire situation, and we might be able to accomplish something beneficial — something very positive for those who were forced out or fled Cuba and now reside here.”
Trump also noted, “There are people here eager to return to Cuba, and they are pleased with the current developments.”
When questioned further about Cuba, Trump elaborated, “Marco Rubio is handling the situation at a very high level. The nation is without money, oil, or food. They are in a serious predicament and are seeking our assistance.”
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Rubio has been in talks with Raul Guillermo Rodriguez Castro — the grandson of Cuba’s former president Raul Castro and grand-nephew of Fidel Castro — in the wake of the Jan. 3 US raid that captured Havana’s oil-rich Venezuelan ally Nicolas Maduro.
The secretary of state met with the younger Raul Castro, 41, on Wednesday during a Caribbean nation conference in St. Kitts, the Miami Herald reported.
Trump has tightened the screws on the already-fragile Cuban economy since Maduro’s ouster, including by signing an executive order on Jan. 29 threatening tariffs against countries — such as Mexico — that sell oil to Cuba.
The Treasury Department on Wednesday said it would allow the sale of Venezuelan oil to Cuba, but only if it benefited the private sector, which may require internal reforms of Havana’s state-run economy.
